A New Player In the Sweepstakes For the Baltimore Orioles' Erik Bedard: The Seattle Mariners...

When the teams that lose out on the Johan Santana sweepstakes decide to move on the next target, they'll set their eyes on Erik Bedard.

Now, there's a new player in the Bedard sweepstakes -- the Seattle Mariners.

From the News Tribune (Seattle): The Mariners officially acknowledged they were out of the run for Johan Santana, and turned their attention to another coveted pitcher – Baltimore’s Erik Bedard.

Bedard isn’t nearly the marquee name Santana is, but he’s a 29-year-old left-hander with a 40-35 record and a 3.83 lifetime earned run average. Unfortuantely for Seattle, he’s hardly a secret.

Among the teams already pursuing Bedard are the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, and the team that finishes second in the Santana derby is almost certain to join this fray.

As with Santana, Bedard will come dear – Orioles general manager Andy MacPhail wants to remake his roster by moving Bedard and shortstop Miguel Tejada. That means ready-for-the-majors talent.

For the Mariners, that means the same three treasured prospects: outfielder Adam Jones, right-handed pitcher Brandon Morrow and catcher Jeff Clement.

Forget the moment that might not be enough – is Bedard worth the cost?
Last year, he made $3.4 million and is arbitration-eligible this spring. He’s never pitched 200 innings in a season, never won more than 15 games in a season.

Business is about to pickup for the Baltimore Orioles. Like I have said before, if the Orioles can trade Bedard, considering the talks with him so far, I say do it.